10/22/2007

News / Web scam: You'll never win this lottery

By Mike Benbow
Linked from: http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20071016/NEWS01/710160050/0/BIZ

I know we all hope to win the lottery someday. The idea of winning a foreign lottery has even more allure because it's, well, foreign.

I don't want to rain on your parade, but I feel totally confident in telling you this: You will never win a dime in a foreign lottery, and you are a complete sucker if you think you will. If you get an unsolicited foreign lottery promotion through the mail, by telephone or by e-mail, pitch it without giving it another thought.

I could end this column here -- making it my shortest on record -- because that's all you truly need to know about these international lottery scams.

But the scam artists are developing new wrinkles on this old con game every day and are attracting new victims every day. The Federal Trade Commission said such scams steal $120 million a year from people lured by the prospect of instant wealth.

So let's talk a little more about this.

I've written about these scams before, but my interest was rekindled last Thursday when Patricia Volkmann dropped by with two scam solicitations she'd received by e-mail. Volkmann, 69, drove over from her Everett mobile home park during a gale with 40 mph winds and gusts up to 50 that left 85,000 people without power in Snohomish County.

That's how strongly she felt about warning others.

"Just beware," she said. "Don't believe anything the Internet tells you because there's always something behind it."

My favorite was the "COCA'COLA COMPANY OFFICIAL PRIZE NOTIFICATION" that told Volkmann she was among five lucky consolation prize winners whose e-mail address had been enrolled in a contest.

Her "consolation" prize was described as 1 million pounds. It didn't say what the real winners got, but that must have been a truly big number.

That lottery didn't ask Volkmann for a specific amount of money, but I'm sure one was forthcoming.

In another solicitation, the Free Lotto from London, Volkmann was also told she'd won 1 million pounds and asked her to contact "Barrister Anderson White" who would "assist you to register and process the require documents in British High Court as require by law."

Volkmann wanted to see what would happen, so she contacted the "barrister."

Basically, he told her to go to a Western Union Office and wire $820 in U.S. currency so he could prepare three documents "Required By British Government" and "act fast on your winnings."

The documents included: a Lottery Clearance Certificate, Affidavit of Fund Release Registration Document and an Affidavit of Claim from British High Court.

Of course, Volkmann didn't send any money.

She said she responded to the solicitation because she was curious what would happen next in the deal, but I don't recommend it. It typically means you'll get put on a sucker list and wind up with a deluge of similar e-mails trying to take your money.

Volkmann said she wasn't too worried about it because she lives in a mobile home park and isn't rolling in money. "They wouldn't get that much out of me," she said. "They're barking up the wrong tree."

Whether you've got much money or not, please don't send any to these leeches. And never reveal your credit card or bank account numbers. The scam artists frequently ask for these so they can try to drain your accounts.


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